The word that describes my childhood is freedom. I had the protection of my grandmother. She always made special foods for me. We grew up with a lot of people. I had two older sisters but at any time there could be six or seven other girls in the house - it was like living in a boarding house. I remember the food, rice, ripe plantain, soups, tea and bread. Most of the time, I played football. I would run out and play out with my friends all day. When I started Primary School, my sister had to take me to school. My school was close to the Abom house. We would walk down the main road from Cape Coast and we could go over the bridge over the lagoon. We lived with my aunty from my father’s side. In our Akan tradition, we belong to our mother’s family. We do not belong to our father’s side. I do not think my aunt’s family liked us very much because they did not see us as family. We were the other people to them. My parents would send us money for our upkeep. My sisters would buy the things we needed and then take most of it for themselves. I did not complain as long as they bought me a football or toffee. They became my substitute mothers in a way, which made us very close. We spent time with my parents during the long summer holidays. We did not live with them for most of the year because of my father’s work. My first job as a highschool teacher allowed me to get my first car. My father was so happy. I would drive to their house once a week and have a drink with him on the porch. He liked me to drive him to church on Sundays. He always insisted on going early so that nobody took his seat. He liked to sit at the front with his peers. I did not like to sit with him and all his old friends. I remember he and his friends would wear suits and meet at one of their houses every so often and eat fine foods and salads. They were real gentlemen.

I remember we lived in two places - one by the ocean and one by the woods. I spent a lot of time in Abom. Abom is near the ocean and near the fishermen. My grandmother, my father’s mother, was my favourite person when I was growing up. We did not live with my mother and father during most of our childhood as they were not living in Cape Coast. When my mother came to Cape Coast we would stay with her. So I really like Abom because of my grandmother. I remember my parents would never tell us when they were leaving when they visited us. They would just leave and I would cry after my mother. The second house was near the woods and was surrounded mainly by mango trees. It was one of only three houses in that area. There were not many people in that area - it was very secluded. There were some churches that would use the road near our house in the woods to go and bury people at the cemetery at the of the road. They would come with lamps. Invariably, this would take place at least once every two weeks. So we grew up with all sorts of fear of devils, ghosts and snakes as you can imagine. Especially when we had to cross through the woods with my friends to play.